Rome, Oct. 19 (LaPresse) – “What happened on Saturday afternoon in Turin is extremely serious. The attacks on law enforcement officers, the assault on the Porta Nuova bookshop and the destruction in the city centre deserve unequivocal and unambiguous condemnation. We extend our full solidarity to law enforcement officers, shopkeepers, workers and the many citizens affected. Anyone who has committed crimes must answer for them before the law. The material damage, the businesses forced to close and the resources needed to repair what has been destroyed all fall on the community. Every act of destruction harms the entire city of Turin.” This was stated by Turin’s centre-left mayor, Stefano Lo Russo, during an interview with Corriere della Sera. In any case, he continued, “the very seriousness of this violence makes it necessary to distinguish between those who demonstrate peacefully and those who wreak havoc. Violent infiltrators deprive those who take to the streets over genuine issues of their voice. The rising cost of living weighs heavily on families: utility bills, petrol, rent and wages that are losing purchasing power. Condemnation of what happened must go hand in hand with the ability of institutions to address these underlying concerns. Those who demonstrate peacefully have the right to be heard. What message were the demonstrations sending before the acts of vandalism? Many young people, even when studying and working hard, are beginning to doubt that they can succeed. They are calling for investment in schools and public healthcare, decent work, affordable housing and the opportunity to build an independent life. Essentially, they are asking to be able to see a future that they can no longer see today. We adults have a duty to listen to them and provide credible answers. When a generation loses faith in tomorrow, the future of the entire country is undermined.” Nevertheless, Lo Russo stressed, “security is an essential condition for democracy and a matter of equality: the most vulnerable are the first to pay the price of insecurity. We need law enforcement agencies with adequate staffing and equipment, the ability to prevent violent groups from carrying out attacks, and full protection of the right to demonstrate. At the same time, policies on employment, housing, transport and public services are needed. Urban security and social security are two sides of the same public responsibility.” Finally, Lo Russo recalled that “as mayors of major cities, we have asked the government to convene a meeting with us urgently. The social and generational compact is under profound strain. The government must fully assume its responsibilities: maintaining public order and addressing the economic and social causes of this discontent. We mayors are ready to do our part; every institution must do the same, within its own remit. The time has come to remove these issues from the atmosphere of permanent political and institutional confrontation.”
Protests, Lo Russo: “Extremely Serious Destruction, Now the Government Must Take Responsibility”
Rome, Oct. 19 (LaPresse) – “What happened on Saturday afternoon in Turin is extremely serious. The attacks on law enforcement officers, the assault on the Porta Nuova bookshop and the destruction in the city centre deserve unequivocal and unambiguous condemnation. We extend our full solidarity to law enforcement officers, shopkeepers, workers and the many citizens affected. Anyone who has committed crimes must answer for them before the law. The material damage, the businesses forced to close and the resources needed to repair what has been destroyed all fall on the community. Every act of destruction harms the entire city of Turin.” This was stated by Turin’s centre-left mayor, Stefano Lo Russo, during an interview with Corriere della Sera. In any case, he continued, “the very seriousness of this violence makes it necessary to distinguish between those who demonstrate peacefully and those who wreak havoc. Violent infiltrators deprive those who take to the streets over genuine issues of their voice. The rising cost of living weighs heavily on families: utility bills, petrol, rent and wages that are losing purchasing power. Condemnation of what happened must go hand in hand with the ability of institutions to address these underlying concerns. Those who demonstrate peacefully have the right to be heard. What message were the demonstrations sending before the acts of vandalism? Many young people, even when studying and working hard, are beginning to doubt that they can succeed. They are calling for investment in schools and public healthcare, decent work, affordable housing and the opportunity to build an independent life. Essentially, they are asking to be able to see a future that they can no longer see today. We adults have a duty to listen to them and provide credible answers. When a generation loses faith in tomorrow, the future of the entire country is undermined.” Nevertheless, Lo Russo stressed, “security is an essential condition for democracy and a matter of equality: the most vulnerable are the first to pay the price of insecurity. We need law enforcement agencies with adequate staffing and equipment, the ability to prevent violent groups from carrying out attacks, and full protection of the right to demonstrate. At the same time, policies on employment, housing, transport and public services are needed. Urban security and social security are two sides of the same public responsibility.” Finally, Lo Russo recalled that “as mayors of major cities, we have asked the government to convene a meeting with us urgently. The social and generational compact is under profound strain. The government must fully assume its responsibilities: maintaining public order and addressing the economic and social causes of this discontent. We mayors are ready to do our part; every institution must do the same, within its own remit. The time has come to remove these issues from the atmosphere of permanent political and institutional confrontation.”